The Top Ten Best Christian Songs
This is going to be a slight bit different from my normal lists. Christian music has been a staple of my life, as I grew up listening to it every day, and I still continue to do so. As someone who has struggled many times with my faith, I've found that contemporary Christian music can really help bring your spirits up even in the toughest of times. Hence, this list is going to get very personal. This is not an objective list in any manner. I don't know what an objective "best" Christian song would look like to somebody. Many people would say a hymn like "Amazing Grace" or maybe a critical darling like "You Say" by Lauren Daigle, but those would not be my picks. My picks are songs that have personally impacted me and my life in a number of ways, no matter what ways they are.
There are no eligibility rules for this list. The only rule I do have is that I will only be allowing one entry per artist. There are so many artists that I listen to in Christian music that it makes it difficult for me to actually narrow it down, and there are songs by multiple artists on this list that likely would've made it if not for the one-entry rule. I will also be expanding my honorable mentions to 20 just for this list, with 10 coming after the first 5 entries and 10 more coming before I reveal #1. I feel it's important to do this because of the vast amount of music I considered when making this list. So, without further adieu, I present to you...
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#10.
When it comes to picking songs for this list, I tend to go with the ones that strike an emotional chord with me. I listen to Christian music because of how it makes me feel, and having a strong lyrical sentiment and story behind the song will absolutely be a benefit when it comes to this list. As someone who's struggled for a long time with faith, I find that songs about overcoming struggles can be a powerful message that can truly hit me hard. The story behind my #10 entry is a powerful one. So powerful, in fact, that it was made into a movie.
10. I Still Believe - Jeremy Camp
The story behind Jeremy Camp's "I Still Believe" is heartbreaking. In 2001, Camp's wife Melissa was diagnosed with cancer and eventually passed away. Following her death, Camp wrote the song that would eventually become his defining hit and the inspiration for the title of a 2020 movie about his life. It was also featured on the 2003 compilation WOW Hits 2004 as one of the biggest Christian hits of the year.
"I Still Believe" is about overcoming struggles and bad events in life that test your faith. Despite all of these things, Camp still believes. He went through one of the worst things a person can go through and, despite it all, still manages to hold on to his faith. This is a very encouraging message for those going through hard times, and it's definitely helped me through mine. If I had to pick a favorite lyric from the song, it'd be "Well in brokenness I can see that this was your will for me". Something about knowing that God is with us through our struggles makes things so much better.
Out of all of Camp's music, this was the song that I felt was most powerful. Something about the orchestral production combined with Camp's genuine emotion just hits me perfectly. From Camp, I also considered "Walk By Faith", the other big hit from his first album, but this slightly edged it out for a spot on the list. Camp has gone down as one of my favorite artists, and he's made so many songs that I absolutely love. His career is still going strong to this day.
#9.
Putting songs that weren't very big hits on this list feels weird as someone who usually exclusively talks about massive hits on lists like these, but this isn't a "Top Ten Best Christian Hits" list, so I can do what I want. The song I'm talking about at the #9 spot is not a song I think many people have heard of, but it's one that truly spoke to me in numerous ways. In 2019, I went to a free concert to see one of my favorite breakout artists of the year before, and received the album this song was on. When I heard this song, I just froze in how powerful I felt it was.
9. Break My Heart - Austin French
Austin French's first album Wide Open is one of my favorite albums of all time. For starters, I actually got the thing autographed by him, and I heard him perform basically half the songs on it. Unfortunately, this was not one of them. It's a shame, too, as this is the best song on the album by a lot for me. That's not to say the other songs aren't good (they 100% are), but this is a truly special song. Featuring an emotive piano instrumental and production, its complemented well by a heartbreaking (heh) lyrical sentiment that just overwhelms the soul.
"Break My Heart" is about how we need the bad experiences in life in order to know who God is and who we are. "I wouldn't know I had a future if it wasn't for the cross" is a lyric that stands out to me because we needed Jesus' sacrifice in order to have the opportunity to live without fear. Even through failure and trauma, God was still with us. We needed our hearts to break. We needed bad experiences. Life is nothing without those. They round us out as people, and allow us to need Jesus. With no bad, we can't have the good.
I still feel like this should've been a single from that album. It's got a lyrical sentiment that can truly hit people in the feels and it's done in an excellent manner. It's one of my favorite songs of all time for a reason. French's voice works very well on this kind of instrumental, and it creates a very emotional song that truly does make you feel things. In 2019, when I was going through my first big mental health crisis, this was a song that spoke to me.
#8.
One of my favorite genres of all time is early 2000s Christian rock. Specifically, a lot of the Christian punk-rock stuff from the early 2000s that I listened to on early WOW Hits compilations. Artists like Stellar Kart, Reliant K, Superchick, Kutless, and pre-Steingard Hawk Nelson are examples of this. My pick for #8 is my favorite of this genre, and it's a song that comes from a band that didn't get nearly the recognition they deserved.
8. The Real - nevertheless
I first heard "The Real" by nevertheless on the WOW Hits 2007 video DVD compilation. It was the last song on the CD, so I didn't get to listen to it until the end of the CD. The wait was worth it. This is the best song on a CD packed with awesome jams, and it serves as an excellent closer to a truly brilliant listening experience. It has some of the best guitar work I've heard in Christian music, and lead singer Josh Pearson compliments it perfectly.
What is "The Real" about? Frankly, it's not really about anything specific. It's mostly about how God has called us to be who we are and that nothing is going to change it. Its lyrical sentiment is mostly good, but that's not what put it on the list. This is one of very few songs on this list that I listen to for its sound alone, and its such an incredible-sounding song that it rose about songs that genuinely hit me emotionally. Excellent electric guitar work can take you a long way in my mind.
Nevertheless didn't really do much after this. They had a decent hit in "Sleeping In", but disbanded in 2009 after their second album. It's a shame, as these guys were very talented and had the potential to be truly great. At least this still serves as a reminder of just how awesome these guys were. This song has aged very well and is just an absolute banger in every way. To this day it's a staple in my Christian music playlist and a song I am very proud to say is one of my favorites of all time.
#7.
This next entry is an artist I had a tough time deciding the song for. This band is one of my favorite Christian bands of all time, and they have made some incredibly powerful music that has moved me in a lot of ways. Every album they've made has at least 2 legitimately great songs on it, and they've continued to be one of the most successful groups in Christian music from their debut in 2003 to this day. I had so many songs to pick one, but I had to be honest with myself on this one. Out of all the songs this band has released, this was the most personal and compelling.
7. Oh My Soul - Casting Crowns
In 2015, Casting Crowns lead singer Mark Hall was diagnosed with kidney cancer. He didn't go public about it at the time, and kept it private with everyone except his wife. After a while, he did tell others, but it was begrudgingly. He eventually overcame the cancer, but the experience was hard for him. It resulted in this song, which, in my opinion, is the most powerful song the band has ever released. The lyrics came to him as he felt that he was more worried about others seeing his faith falter.
"Oh My Soul" is about knowing that no matter what you're going through, God is with you. You may struggle with your faith, you may cry, but God is with you through it all. This song hit like a brick when I heard it late last year, as I was going through something similar. I had a mental health crisis that took hold of me and made me question my faith, and this song was helpful through all of it. Specifically, the lyrics "no one would blame you, though, if you cried in private, if you tried to hide it away so no one knows, no one will see if you stop believing" hit very hard because that's exactly what I was doing. I was hiding it. I was hiding the fact that I very nearly lost my faith. This song was one of the songs that helped me through that struggle.
I have a massive amount of respect for Casting Crowns. They have so many great songs that I considered for this spot, but this was the one that I felt most personally affected me. I also considered "Praise You In This Storm" for this list, and it was a close call, but in the end, it was "Oh My Soul" that stood out. From the beautiful piano playing to Mark Hall's emotive vocal performance, it truly captures something special. Struggle isn't God telling us he doesn't love us, it's a lesson we have to learn, and this song helped me learn that lesson.
#6.
Have you ever thought about how you're living your life? Are you putting your all into everything you do? That's a question I've asked myself hundreds of time, and I came to the conclusion a while back that the answer was no. I had that question on my mind for weeks, and I kept trying to put everything I had into everything I did, to no avail. When I finally hit my limit, I heard a song that captured my thoughts on my life to a T. This is that song.
6. The Motions - Matthew West
If you haven't been able to tell by some of the last few entries, this is going to be my most personal list to date. Most of the songs on this list, apart from a couple, have had genuinely positive impacts on my life that I couldn't begin to thank God for. This song is no different. Matthew West is another artist I've listened to for basically my entire life, and this song came out when I was either 3 or 4, so it's been on my radar for a long time. I didn't really listen to it a lot growing up, though, because I didn't have it on any CDs and my parents were really strict about using YouTube due to poor wi-fi issues. Once I finally started listening to it again, it quickly became my favorite song by West.
"The Motions" is about how living life going through the motions isn't going to get you where you want to go in your relationship with God and how something has to change. It's a message I feel that a lot of people struggle with in their lives, including myself. This was a song I needed in my life after I struggled with feeling like I wasn't doing enough, and I still use it after all this time to help lift my spirits whenever I need it. One line that stood out to me was "no regrets, not this time, I'm gonna let my heart defeat my mind" which fits what I'm struggling with perfectly. I over-analyze literally everything I do, and it's hard to let the things my heart wants to do happen because of it. It's something I'm still working on, and hearing West put this into words is exactly what I needed.
Matthew West is another artist who has a ton of songs that have hit me over the years. There's this, "Hello, My Name Is", "Strong Enough", "My Own Little World", and "Broken Things", which are all great. Just like with "Oh My Soul" before, this was the song from his discography that hit me the most personally, and that's why I chose it. West is a special artist, and songs like this are the reason why.
And now, before we hit the 2nd half of the list, I must go through the first half of our honorable mentions.
HONORABLE MENTIONS (PART 1)
HM1. More Beautiful You [Jonny Diaz]
This was the final cut from the list. "More Beautiful You" is a song meant to teach teenage and young adult women that they aren't going to impress anybody by being fake, and that being yourself is perfectly okay. Obviously, I'm not in that target audience, but it's still a powerful message for anyone who listens because it's true. You have to be yourself, not somebody else.
HM2. You Are Here [needtobreathe]
For a band as storied as needtobreathe, a song like this being my pick for them feels somewhat odd. This was also on that same WOW Hits 2007 DVD that "The Real" was on, and it has been a very powerful song for me for a long time. The electric guitars and the message that God is here with us create a song that is both powerful lyrically and musically.
HM3. Shine [Newsboys]
The entirety of Newsboys' discography from pre-2000 feels like a fever dream. They had a song about a man going to work for the circus and begging his parents for money after being robbed by a clown ("Reality"), a song about aliens begging to see our leader ("Take Me To Your Leader"), and this, a song where the music video featured a silver suit that Steven Curtis Chapman said made him want a baked potato. The song is catchy and brilliant in almost every way, and is just an infectious listen.
HM4. Beautiful, Beautiful [Francesca Battistelli]
As a pianist, this song speaks to me for the simple fact that it has an awesome piano beginning. In all seriousness, the message that God makes us beautiful despite all of our flaws is incredibly powerful and something I truly love. Francesca is another artist that I have a lot of appreciation for, having seen her in concert, and this is her best song in my opinion.
HM5. Someone Worth Dying For [MIKESCHAIR]
MIKESCHAIR is one of those bands that just feels very weird to me, mostly because I don't know much about them other than the fact they were named after dorm furniture. This song speaks to me because it is another song about how, despite your flaws, God loves you and sacrificed everything to save your life. You are someone worth dying for, and this song reminds me of that in my life.
HM6. Turn [Paul Colman Trio]
Paul Colman is another artist who had a very strange career in my eyes. He had this trio, he also had a solo album that my dad listened to religiously, and then he joined the Newsboys for one album before leaving. It was a tough call which Colman song was going to make this list, and I had to choose between this, "The One Thing", and "Holding Onto You", but in the end, I went with "Turn", which is an absolute banger.
HM7. Stand In Your Love [Josh Baldwin]
Here's one of the songs on this list that I sing in church. This was my introduction to Baldwin, who's become easily my favorite of Bethel Music's worship acts. "Stand In Your Love" is a song about how the presence of God's love will allow us to overcome what the Devil throws at us, and it's an excellent-sounding song that's done perfectly.
HM8. God Gave Me You [Dave Barnes]
I feel like more people know Blake Shelton's version of this, which is good, but the original will always be superior in my eyes. There's something more raw about Barnes' voice and the genuine love he has for his wife that just hits me. It would probably be on the actual list if I could relate to it, but the song is still brilliant either way.
HM9. More Of You [Hillsong Young & Free]
I had a very big EDM phase back in the day, and Hillsong Young & Free combined worship and EDM in a way that I absolutely love to this day. "More of You" is a very powerful song that continues to hit for me to this day, with excellent production and a great message of wanting to spend more time with God and seeking his word.
HM10. HAPPY [NF]
Does this technically count? I know NF says he's not a "Christian" rapper, but rather a rapper who is a Christian. However, this song does directly address God, so I feel like it fits. It's my favorite song by NF by a long shot, and that's a big deal considering he's one of my favorite artists of all time. This song perfectly describes how I've felt for a long time (to the point where my best friend said this song reminded him of me) and what I'm trying to overcome.
And now, back to the list.
#5.
If you ask me to make this list a month ago, this song isn't on it. Not because I didn't think it was good enough, but because I hadn't heard it before then. In fact, this is one of the songs that prompted me to write this list. This is an artist I had listened to somewhat as a kid, but he wasn't someone I knew much about. Re-listening to this song about 3 weeks ago made me realize that I was missing out on something truly special.
5. I Have Been There - Mark Schultz
Sometimes, when you're down, you just need a reminder that God is there with you through your struggles. "I Have Been There" is the story of three different situations where people don't know what to do, and how God reminds them he has gone through the same thing, and there's nothing they can't do with him. It's an incredibly emotional song that really helped remind me of that fact, and I needed that after an especially tough day earlier this year.
Specifically, the three situations Mark talks about in this song are especially difficult. The first situation involves a pair of new parents who don't feel like they have enough money to support their child, which is an especially common situation even today. The second involves a pastor who is trying to make the world a better place but feels that nothing is getting better despite all he attempts to do. The third involves an older man who just lost his wife of 60 years and how he "loved her til' the end". God reminds all three in this situation that he has experienced those feelings of fear, pain, and sorrow, respectively.
As I said, sometimes all you need is a reminder. This song served as that for me when I went through one of the worst mental breakdowns I've ever experienced. I felt lost. I felt alone. I felt afraid. I heard this song for the first time in years following that. I can say that it truly helped me through a lot. God is with me through everything I do, and this is the song that helped me remember that. Thank you, Mark. I thank Jesus that this song was with me when I needed it.
#4.
If I had to answer the question "what artist has had the most impact on your life?", it would be this artist. When I was 5 years old, I wrote a small picture book about this artist in my kindergarten class. Well, after I did that, my teacher decided to send it to him via mail. This resulted in me receiving two autographed pictures and a hand-written letter from him, along with going to a concert of his soon after. This is a memory I have ingrained in my mind because it meant so much to me. I've listened to this artist literally since before I was born (my parents played music through speakers and played this artist for me while I was in the womb lol), and he's been one of my favorite artists for a very, very long time. The question was... which song do I pick? He has been around since the late 80s, so it was not going to be an easy decision. Or so I thought.
4. Live Out Loud - Steven Curtis Chapman
I grew up on Steven Curtis Chapman. I can quite confidently say he is a Top 3 favorite artist of all time for me, alongside 2 other artists I have yet to mention in my #3 and #2 spots. He has so many songs that hit me emotionally, so why is "Live Out Loud" the pick? It's simple, really. This is the song I grew up on. It was my favorite song for so many years, and it has continued to be one of my favorites for a very long time. Sure, I could've went with something more powerful like "Heaven In The Real World", "All That's Left", or "More to This Life", but none of those would've been the honest answer. At the end of the day, "Live Out Loud" is the only song I could've picked for Steven Curtis Chapman that would've made sense.
"Live Out Loud" opens with some very upbeat trumpets and transitions into a full-on jam. The song is about how we have to spread the word of God as loudly as possible, and features a somewhat dated reference to Regis Philbin and "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?". The entire premise of the song is that we have this amazing love from God that we need to share with the world, and not doing so would be a waste of what he has given us. It would be like asking the sun not to shine to not let this out, hence the need to "live out loud". Everything hits a head in the bridge, where the chords change and it goes higher, creating a great climax to an excellent song.
This song is right. We need to spread the Word. That's what I feel called to do with my life going forward, and its songs like these that provide the way for us to do that. This was my childhood. I remember listening to this song when I was like 3, and it's been in my life for basically as long as I can even think. God bless you, Steven Curtis Chapman. You've earned every bit of success you've had in your career and more.
#3.
There were a number of tough decisions on this list, and this was the one I dreaded making the most. For this band, I had two songs in mind for this list. Both are excellent songs that were very big hits at the time, and I have listened to both of them for years. I spent hours thinking about which song I would pick, and I kept flip-flopping back and forth on which one would make the list. Eventually, I decided "you know what, I'm just gonna put them both."
3A. Show Me Your Glory - Third Day
3B. Cry Out To Jesus - Third Day
I couldn't make a decision. Both of these songs are incredible, and not having one of them on the list would feel wrong to me, so I decided I had to do a tie. Third Day is probably my favorite band of all time, and they've been heavily influential on the type of music I like to write and listen to. Their southern rock blend with CCM works so wonderfully and there's truly nothing like it. These are the two songs I feel best define Third Day as a band, so I guess I will go through them one at a time.
Meanwhile, "Cry Out To Jesus" is another emotional song that I couldn't imagine my life without. This is another song I play in church, and it's one of the few songs to ever make me cry. It gives advice to people going through difficult situations to just pray and ask God for help, which so many people need. "There is hope for the helpless, rest for the weary, and love for the broken heart", as he says. God is here with us no matter what emotions we're going through, so crying out to Jesus is the best way to make the connection with God that we need.
I miss Third Day so much. When they broke up in 2019, I was devastated. They are still my favorite band to this day, and I've listened to so much of their music on a regular basis. I'm just glad I got to see them in concert before they disbanded. I remember them playing both of these songs there, and I remember them being just as powerful then as they are to me now. God truly blessed these men with talent, and they thanked him by making two of the best worship songs I've ever heard.
#2.
The story behind a song can make it all the more powerful. Just like Jeremy Camp at my #10 entry, this group had a movie made about them named after their breakthrough song. It was inspired by the death of the lead singer's father, and is a truly powerful song about how we have no idea what Heaven will be like and that it's going to be better than we could possibly dream. That song was "I Can Only Imagine", and it is not the one I will be talking about for my #2 entry. It's a genuinely excellent song, but out of MercyMe's discography, there's another song that surpasses it for me in every way.
2. A Million Miles Away - MercyMe
MercyMe is one of my top 3 favorite groups/artists of all time, alongside Third Day and Steven Curtis Chapman. They've been heavily successful in the CCM industry ever since "I Can Only Imagine" hit radio back in 2001. They have numerous #1 Christian hits, including "Even If", "Word of God Speak", and "God With Us". What makes this song, which wasn't even released as a single, my favorite from their discography? It's pretty simple, really. This song is not only very powerful lyrically, but it also has what may be my favorite musical moment of all time.
"A Million Miles Away" is a song that talks about how God is everywhere all at once, despite it seeming like he's so far away from us. The song asks the question "how could you save the day if you're a million miles away?", basically saying that the miracles God performs in our lives happen because he's near, and that it wouldn't make sense for him to be far away. This is a question I often find myself asking, wondering if God is truly near, so hearing someone else rationalize how close God is to us just makes me feel so happy. That lyrical sentiment alone is enough to get on my radar, but that's not the main reason it's on this list.
Following the third chorus on this song, there is a guitar solo. I kid you not when I say that this guitar solo is my favorite musical moment of all time. There's just an overwhelming wave of emotion that comes with it that brings the perfect climax to a song that was already great otherwise. This turns it from a great song into a perfect song, and is the highlight of everything MercyMe has ever done for me. This is the song that, above all, I will remember from this band when it's all said and done, and I couldn't imagine picking anything different.
And now, before we reveal my favorite Christian song of all time, some more honorable mentions.
HONORABLE MENTIONS (PART 2)
HM11. My Jesus [Anne Wilson]
I remember coming home from school one day in either 2020 or 2021, and finding the lyrics to this song sitting on my piano. They were placed there by my mother, who encouraged me to learn the song for church. Written after the death of her brother, Wilson placed her faith in God that all things will work out for good, and spreads his message by saying "let me tell you 'bout my Jesus", which is what I try to do when singing this song.
HM12. Perfectly Loved (feat. tobyMac) [Rachael Lampa]
This is another song that serves as a reminder for me. No matter who you are, what you've done, or any faults you find in yourself, God loves you perfectly, and that is good enough. Lampa and tobyMac have a lot of chemistry on this song, and it's produced in a beautiful way with some excellent piano work backing up the two artists. Just powerful.
HM13. your heart [Stephen Stanley]
This is the newest song on this list, having come out this year. Stephen Stanley is someone I've grown to love over the past year, with his emotional rock style captivating me in so many ways. This song resonated with me immediately, and I have had it on repeat for a while. It describes how living life on our own breaks God's heart, and that we need to go back to where he starts to find peace. It's one of the best-sounding songs I've heard in quite some time, and I absolutely love it.
HM14. One Like Us (feat. KB) [Mack Brock]
Hot take - we need more worship music with trap production. "One Like Us" is arguably my favorite example of this, with its 6-minute runtime feeling completely natural and not too much due to just how powerful the message is. God had to become one of us in order to pay the price we needed for salvation, and I find that to be well-delivered in this song.
HM15. Chain Breaker [Zach Williams]
I have very fond memories of this song, as it was the song I won my school's talent show by singing back in 2018. Zach Williams has a very gruff voice that reminds me of Chris Stapleton in some ways, and I could not mean that as a higher complement. I still sing this song in church all the time, and my grandma is always requesting it, so it means a lot to me from a family standpoint as well.
HM16. Activate [Stellar Kart]
Back to that WOW Hits 2007 DVD (which this is the 4th song from after "The Real", "You Are Here", and "Cry Out To Jesus), this was another song I listened to all the time growing up. I was mostly captivated by the music video, which features the band taking some sort of spray that turns them from nerdy dorks into cool punk-rockers. I always found it so funny. Fun fact - the lead singer of this band, Adam Agee, somehow became the lead singer of classic Christian rock bands Audio Adrenaline and Newsboys. How? I don't know, but good for him.
HM17. Breakthrough [Nate Sallie]
Okay, this is the last song from that DVD. That's a whole 6th of the list that came from one DVD I got when I was like 6, so clearly nostalgia is playing a big role in this list. Not to say that this song isn't excellent, because it is. It's a strong piano-led song about how he can feel the love of God breaking through in his life after so much time on the outside. Another song that somewhat chokes me up. I wonder what this guy is up to now.
HM18. What Faith Can Do [Kutless]
Faith is a powerful force in our lives that we need to utilize as much as possible. Without faith in yourself or God, it's hard to do much of anything. That's what's so special about this song for me. It reminds us that faith can lead us anywhere, even when we don't realize. We are stronger than we realize. We can face any giant thrown our way.
HM19. Into Your Arms [Capital Kings]
HM20. What Life Would Be Like [Big Daddy Weave]
For my final honorable mention, we have a song that I really feel in my soul. I've always felt like I wasn't enough, and that changing who I am would get me what I want. That's not what God wants us to do. He wants us to let him live through us and be a light unto the world. If we all lived as a light, I feel like the world would be a much better place. That's what this song seeks to answer.
And now, my favorite Christian song of all time.
#1.
I'm going to be blunt here. There was never going to be another choice for my #1. Not only is it one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard in my life and one I couldn't imagine my life without, but it's also a song I've sung in church for years that I don't plan to stop any time soon. It's my favorite song of all time and was the first song to ever genuinely make me cry. The story behind this song is also very impactful, so I suppose I'll start with that.
In 2002, a youth minister named Stephen Coffey prayed out loud "I would give my life today if it would shape the youth of the nation". That same night, Coffey died in a car accident. Coffey was the best friend of a man named John Mark McMillan, who wrote this song as a tribute. According to McMillan, "this song isn't a celebration of weakness and anger. It's a celebration of a God who would want to hang with us through those things, who would want to be a part of our lives through those things, and, despite who we are, He would want to be a part of us, our community, and our family."
This song was very successful despite being released independently, and has been covered by numerous artists in the Christian industry. One of these covers ended up becoming my favorite song of all time.
1. How He Loves [David Crowder*Band]
"How He Loves" is one of the greatest Christian songs ever released, and I'd argue it's one of the most important. While the McMillan version is good, David Crowder's version of the song is the one that I first heard, and is the one that has stuck with me. The song begins with a very simple piano line that somehow still becomes iconic. The song repeats the same verse twice, comparing God to a hurricane and us to a tree with how much his love overwhelms and defines us ("bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy"). Would the song have benefited from a different second verse? I genuinely don't think so. The song needed to emphasize just how powerful God's love is, so repeating the first verse is a great way to do so.
The bridge of this song is where the song peaks, with one of the most powerful set of lyrics I've ever heard in my entire life.
"And we are His portion and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking
And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about, the way..."
Specifically, I'd like to draw upon that middle line. This is the key difference between McMillan's version and Crowder's version. In the McMillan version, the lyric says "sloppy wet kiss", which is not what I feel this song should be going for. Crowder changes it to "unforeseen", which not only fits the rhythm, but makes more sense as we've never seen anything like what we're going to see when Heaven meets the Earth. This change turns a good song into a song that I would call perfect. I don't use that term lightly. There are very few songs that I would call perfect, this being one of them.
"How He Loves" is the song that saved me. I once took a walk at night because I was in a very bad mood and needed some air, and I decided to listen to some music on the way. This song came on and I was just absolutely crushed by how true every word is. God loves us in a way that no human being is even capable of. God loves us more than we love anyone or anything in our lives. The depths of his love are unfathomable. This song truly emphasizes just how strong and powerful God's love is. It is not only my favorite song of all time, but it's a song I don't know if I could imagine my life without. Once I heard it for the first time, I instantly decided that I had to learn it, and I have been singing it at church ever since. It's become a favorite of my family, as well, which truly means the world to me.
Thank you, David Crowder*Band. This is the song that I needed. This is not only my favorite song of all time, but it's a cornerstone that has impacted my life in more ways than you could possibly imagine.
This is Lando from The Landoman Experiment, thanking you for reading! I hope you have a wonderful day and God bless.
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